As discussed in the inventor's previous patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,757, rigid, set up gift boxes are popular in the retail trades and for home use. Because the present invention provides an enhancement to the disclosed rigid setup box structure described in that patent, the content thereof is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, including its recitation of the problems in the prior art.
Many retail establishments, particularly those involved with the sale of high-quality goods, employ rigid set up boxes. For example, in the upscale clothing industry, such boxes often are customized to incorporate the retailer's trademark, name, crest, or other identifying indicia. A retailer, therefore, must maintain an inventory of boxes in assorted sizes to accommodate a range of differently sized articles. Typically, in packaging/gift wrapping an item in a rigid set up box, the item will be covered or wrapped in one or more sheets of tissue paper. That tissue paper may itself be secured about the enclosed item with a seal or ribbon prior to closing the box with its lid.
The wrapping of items in tissue paper may prove to be challenging and time consuming, especially when seeking to present a professional and neat appearance. As anyone with experience handling tissue paper knows, at best, it is an awkward process. Tissue paper typically comes in a standard one-size-fits-all sheet. However, the dimensions of many rigid set up boxes or other gift containers do not correspond to the length or width of such standard tissue paper sheets. Furthermore, where the rigid set-up box features design elements such as those illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,757, a retailer will be compelled to use white tissue paper or maintain multiple tissue paper bundles/reams in an array of colors, in order to approximate color coordination between the box design and the tissue paper. Likewise, where tissue paper features a repeating retailer or manufacturer's logo, positioning and coordination of the tissue paper on the item with respect to the box can prove challenging and labor intensive. Particularly in the context wrapping soft articles such as small clothing items, maintaining uniformity and alignment can be difficult.
The prior art contains constructs made in attempt to overcome or assist in resolving these problems. Such attempts include pre-packaging and/or pre-attaching tissue paper liners in rigid set up boxes. However, problems persist due to the activity associated with securing the tissue paper about irregular items due to the relative fragility of the tissue paper. If not manipulated carefully, the tissue paper can be torn during the wrapping process. Even where the item is wrapped successfully, that is, neatly and aligned within the set-up box, if its size does not correspond to the interior dimensions of the box, during transport, the wrapped item can move independently within the box. Such movement may lead to damage of the item itself but more commonly, will cause the wrapped item to become misaligned and the tissue paper compromised by tearing or wrinkling. Consequently, the gift presentation may be diminished.
Regardless of the efforts to overcome the tissue liner issues in the prior art, problems still persist.